TAXI! by Larisa Cevallos
Location: Kirra Point
Date: 2012
Surfer: Dale Richards

Dale Richards was once the most highly touted Indigenous surfer in Australia, winning the Quiksilver Pro Trials in 2007 at his home break of Snapper Rocks. Dale mixed it with the likes of 12-time world champ Kelly Slater and looked destined for a successful pro career. Ultimately the pro tour and surfing contests didn’t sit well with his laidback demeanour.

These days if you check Dale’s Instagram account, you’re more likely to see a lineup of the latest fish he’s caught than a Kirra freight train. This moment, on one of the waves of the day during one of the swells of the year, came a few years after his competitive peak. But his relaxed grace on the Gold Coast points is still well in evidence, looking as calm as if he’s hailing a cab rather than hitching a ride on the Kirra Express. A contemporary of homegrown world champs like Stephanie Gilmore, Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson, Dale inspired a generation of Indigenous surfers and has been a star performer at the various Indigenous surfing contests around the country.